Pan.American For Waiting, For Chasing

Pan.American is the iconic transformation of Mark Nelson from guitarist singer in the Kranky-birthing band Labradford into a computer overlord. Five albums and several split EPs later, Nelson has spun his penchant for dub and noise into a captivating long-player that defies the archetypal ambient template. Somewhere in between the bubbling sound waves and incessant pitch shifting exists an intimate center: the sound of the swamp, a multi-celled organism reproducing, a brain hard at work. There is some thoroughly mystical programming and an array of acoustic instruments at work here, making this is by far Pan.American's most inspired and complex effort.